By Neil Earle
"Have you rejected Judah completely? Do you despise Zion? Why have you afflicted us so that we cannot be healed? We hoped for peace but no good has come, for a time of healing but there is only terror.... Think of how I suffer reproach for your sake. When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight.... Why is my pain unending and my wound grievous and incurable?" (Jeremiah 14:19; 15:15-18).
These words are found in the Seven Petitions of Jeremiah, the "weeping prophet" (Jeremiah 1:6; 10:23-24; 11:18-12:6; 17:14-18; 18:18-23; 20:7-18).
Jeremiah knew what it was like to live in a time when God had seemed to turn against his people. In his day it was true. It was part of his prophetic task to preside over the tearing down of the centuries-old religious system of Judah and Jerusalem (Jeremiah 1:10).
Being a prophet didn't make the process any easier, though. Even though God was severely correcting his people, being a man of God didn't ease the pain. Jeremiah poured out, in vivid language, his disorientation and doubt, his feelings of fear and especially his sense of betrayal. Just how far was God going to go with chastising Judah? At one time he came close to calling God a liar (Jeremiah 15:18).
Some of us know how Jeremiah feels. We have faced dissension, doubt, disloyalty and the ongoing pressure of doctrinal change and renewal. Most of us can name names of friends or even close relatives who have turned aside from our fellowship for other groups or for none at all.
That is bound to produce a Jeremiah-like reaction--that is, if we are human. Yet Jeremiah endured. So can you and I. Jeremiah's--and Judah's--labors for God were not in vain. Neither are yours and mine, now or in the past.
Like Judah in Jeremiah's day, we felt we enjoyed a specially favored relationship with God (Jeremiah 26:7-9). We felt we possessed inside knowledge. Like some in Jeremiah's day, we felt that God only worked here, in the Worldwide Church of God (7:1-4).
Of course, the parallels are by no means perfect. But they can instruct (Romans 15:4). We have been challenged to modify some of our views toward those not in our fellowship, to become more broadminded, more ecumenical in our thinking.
This has distressed many. "You're telling me that all those sacrifices I made to be part of this church were all in vain. That's monstrous. Don't you know what I've had to go through just to be a member of this church!"
So many of us in the Worldwide Church of God could say that. I could. We've all got our fascinating tales to tell about God working with us, about our own personal journeys of faith.
A biblical perspective can really help us here. One article can t answer every question, but it can help remind us of what we know to be true: that Jesus Christ notices our godly efforts on his behalf. Our service is not in vain.
Sometimes the quiet corners of Scripture can speak with unusual power and force. They help answer the question: Does God see? Does God know? Are my labors in vain? Here are three points to keep in mind when we are tempted to despair.
* The gentle reminder: the cup of cold water principle.
Matthew 10:34-39 depicts the unpleasant stress and turbulence, the unexpected trauma that can come from those closest to us as we turn to God. Christ concluded this section with some encouraging words: "If anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward" (Matthew 10:42).
We should remember that our tithes and offerings can be thought of as many, many cups of cold water. Through our faithful financial support of God's Work, millions of people get to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Jesus promised: You will not lose your reward.
* The encouraging example: the widow's mite.
In times of rapid transition and turmoil we can easily fall into the "I wonder what they're doing with my money" syndrome. Luke records an incident in the life of Jesus that shows how we are to monitor ourselves for this attitude: "As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins.
" 'I tell you the truth,' he said, 'this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on' " (Luke 21:1-4).
This story teaches us that God looks on the heart.
The temple treasury at that time was in the hands of the Sadducees. Their leaders were Annas and Caiaphas--corrupt temple officials.
Did Jesus reach into the box and hand the widow back her money? No. He saw that as far as she was concerned she was giving the money to God. She knew that God could protect any investment given to him.
What a lesson in living faith.
* "Fools for Christ": Mary of Bethany's extravagant sacrifice.
Extravagance, it has been said, is sometimes a hallmark of an enlarged spirit, a truly Christian temperament (Luke 19:8; Acts 4:36). An incident in the Gospels brings this home: "While Jesus was in Bethany ... a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.
"When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. 'Why this waste?' they asked. 'This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor' " (Matthew 26:6-9).
Here is a typical human way to view sweeping and extravagant devotion. What Mary did made no sense on the human level. Apparently the ointment was worth 10 months wages (New Bible Commentary: Revised, page 955).
"What a waste!" Has anyone ever said that to us about career opportunities or financial advantages we sacrificed because of our commitment to the Worldwide Church of God?
Some of us made major changes in our lives and careers to keep ordinances we once saw as mandatory. Is God unmindful of the suffering, the financial and familial cost we have had to pay for these labors of love?
Of course not (Hebrews 6:10). " 'I tell you the truth,' Jesus replied, 'no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age ... and in the age to come, eternal life' " (Mark 10:29-30).
Many of you reading these words have done just that. You have given up houses, lands, careers and families for the gospel's sake. The Sabbath and the annual festivals--two prime distinctives of the Worldwide Church of God--have been adopted and embraced at cost. Sometimes at great cost.
The example of Mary of Bethany is a reminder of how God honors sincere, sacrificial acts of devotion. As Mary's example shows, the effort is well worth it: "I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her" (Matthew 26:13).
Along with 1 Corinthians 15:58--"You know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain"--we must always remember 1 Peter 2:17, "Show proper respect to everyone."
We are being tested now on our calling to show proper respect to everyone regardless of race, religion or creed. Like Jeremiah, we have to change and learn and grow.
He came to see that God's purposes in his life extended far beyond the confines of his own day (Jeremiah 30:18-24; 31:31-34). God was preparing him for even greater service and outreach (46:1-51:64).
He lived to fight another day. His labor was not in vain. Neither is ours.
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